Mystery of the fox
by FranFenn
Summary: A new member has joined the Dtent, except they're a little different from everyone else Crystal is the only girl in a detention camp for boys. She must learn to get on with her fellow campers, dig holes, and solve the mystery of her brother's death.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one

* * *

**

Crystal sighed impatiently, the trial before hers was running late and she was getting bored. It wasn't even that much of a crime, robbing a DVD. _Then again, _she thought, _I haven't even committed a crime, and yet here I am, sat waiting for my trial to start…_

She suddenly heard the judge's voice say something in the other room, something that caught her attention at once

"…or you could go to camp green lake,"

'Camp green lake…' thought Crystal, she was sure she'd heard of that place before, she pressed her ear to the door to hear what else was being said

"What's camp green lake?" the boy asked

"It's a camp for criminal boys, it helps build character,"

"I...I think I'll pass, I'll go to jail…"

Crystal was intrigued, if there was one way to get her own back on her two-faced lying jerk of an ex-boyfriend, it would be to get another one, and if she went to this camp green lake and got one…it would be all his fault. Plus, she was sure she'd heard of the place before and she wanted to know why. A faint smirk appeared on her face, her mind was made up, if she was convicted guilty, she was going to camp green lake.

And once Crystal's mind was set, there was no changing it.

* * *

"Guilty" the judge's hammer went down

"I sentence you to two and a half years of jail,"

"I want to go to camp green lake"

The judge looked shocked

"Camp green lake?"

Crystal nodded,

"Yeah, you heard me; I want to go to camp green lake."

"But, it's a boy's camp"

"I think that's a bit sexist don't you?"

The judge tried to think of some way of persuading her. He supposed it wasn't specifically an all boys camp - girls could go, they just didn't want to. He realized he couldn't argue with what she had said, he looked at Crystal's fierce dark blue eyes and admitted defeat

"Your funeral," he shrugged, "two and a half years, camp green lake it is."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two

* * *

"Oh my god, what was I thinking…" Crystal moaned to herself on the long bus ride over to camp green lake, "The last thing I want is another boyfriend, let alone a criminal one!"**

She sighed and decided it had to be better than jail. Besides, she had always got on better with with boys than girls anyway. She felt awful, as she usually did on buses, though it was ten times worse this time. It was too hot for a start, even in her T-shirt, she wished dearly she hadn't chosen to wear jeans, they felt so damn hot! On top of that, the road was bumpy and made her bounce off the seat every two minutes. The guard kept staring at her through the whole journey, though really she supposed, that was his job…she shrugged, she should get used to it anyway, no doubt she was going to get stared at a lot at camp green lake. She wished dearly she hadn't chosen to wear jeans, they felt so damn hot! At last the bus pulled to a stop at the camp. She looked out the window. Her observation was pretty much complete ten seconds later. Dirt, tents, cabin, boys.

* * *

"Alright princess, get out" the guard said, opening the door for her. She took a deep breath and followed him out.

From a short distance, the boys from D-tent were returning from a hard days digging.

"Hey check it out - new kid," Squid muttered, nodding at the bus

"Wonder who he's gonna be this time," Armpit said

Magnet watched the door and as the person stepped out, he gasped

"Not 'he' man, it's a she!" he told them in surprise

"No way!" X-ray said from the back

"See for yourself X, it's a girl." Magnet said, pointing to her

"My god! And a damn fine one aswell," X-ray grinned

The others nodded and watched as she made her way to Mr. Sir's office

Squid turned round and saw nearly everyone in the camp's eyes following her, then he looked to one of the campers from his tent and laughed,

"Man, she even got Zero looking!"

Zero said nothing.

* * *

Crystal sat down in the office, glad to finally feel some cool air. She looked across the table, there was a man sat there, a cowboy hat shading his small eyes and his large fist was pouring a handful of sunflower seeds into his mouth. She gulped, she had to admit, this guy was kind of scary, and Crystal wasn't scared easily. He looked up after spitting a few shells into a jar on his desk.

"So, you're our first girl are you?" he said

Crystal nodded

"Just because you're a girl doesn't mean you're at girl scouts, understand?"

Crystal nodded

"You will get some extra privileges, like a separate changing room, but you are still required to do exactly the same thing in exactly the same conditions,"

Crystal nodded

"Now that that's clear, my name is Mr. Sir, whenever you talk to me, you will call me by my name, you got that?"

Despite the situation, Crystal couldn't help a small smirk appear on her face. She attempted to hide it under her long blue-black hair and nodded.

Mr. Sir glared at her, but didn't say anything. He got up and threw her a set of clothes.

"There's a toilet in the back there, get changed," he told her

Crystal picked up the clothes and went into the toilet. The set of clothes consisted of an orange jumpsuit, some socks and white sneakers. There was also a T-shirt that smelled like sweat, she chose to keep her white cropped T-shirt on instead. She tied the jumpsuit around her waist with the arms so that she could still see the design on her T-shirt. A cute fox head, her lucky fox she had always called it. She went back into Mr. Sir's office to find him holding a shovel.

"You are to dig one hole a day," he explained, "five foot deep five foot across, same length as your shovel. After that, your free to do whatever you want." After he had explained about the shower system and what time everything started, a slightly younger man walked in and introduced himself as Dr. Pendanski. He took her over to the tents and told her she would be in D-tent. He led her in so she could see what it looked like. There were seven grubby beds, all fairly next to each other, and two stacks of crates at the back. The floor was dirty and the whole place smelled like sweat and sour milk.

"What do you think then?" Pendanski asked her

She rolled her eyes

"Home sweet home…" she muttered sarcastically.

"Hey Mom," a voice from behind them said, "what're you doin' in here?"

"Ah Rex, I'd like you boys to meet a very special addition to our team," Pendanski smiled at him. Crystal turned around and saw six boys, all about the same age as her stood in the doorway, looking both shocked, and extremely pleased.

"Crystal, this is Rex, Alan, Theodore, José, Ricky and Zero."

Crystal looked at them all and gave a friendly smile; they all smiled back and said 'hi'. Except for the last kid, Zero.

Zero said nothing

"Well, I'll leave you lot to get introduced properly," Pendanski said, then turning to Crystal he told her; "as you're the only girl, I'll let you choose your own mentor, let me know in the morning who you've picked,"

Crystal nodded and watched him walk out the tent.

"So you're Crystal huh?" asked one of the boys,

"Yeah that's right, sorry, I forgot your name's already"

"Oh, well that's good, because Mom didn't actually tell you our names," another said

"Huh?" asked Crystal, feeling slightly confused

"I'm X-Ray," the boy told her, then nodding to the others he said, "That's Squid, Armpit, Magnet and Zigzag."

"Oh…Okay. What about him?" she asked, nodding at the small boy who hadn't said anything.

"Oh, Mom got him right, that's just Zero," X-Ray told her

She walked up to Zero, who was now lying down on the bed and smiled at him,

"Hi Zero," she said

Zero said nothing again, but this time, she was sure she saw him smile back.

"Don't worry," Magnet told her, "Zero doesn't talk to anybody"

"Why not?" Crystal asked

Magnet shrugged

"He's too stupid, that's why," Zigzag told her

Crystal shook her head,

"He doesn't look stupid to me; there must be another reason why he doesn't talk"

"Well if there is, we don't know it" Squid told her.

"Anyway, it seems your in need of a mentor," X-Ray said, changing the subject

"Uhh, yeah, that's right…" Crystal wasn't quite sure what X-Ray was implying.

"…and your mentor is the person who'll you'll be hanging out with the most, right?"

"I guess so…"

"Well, if that's the case, I wouldn't mind being your mentor," X-Ray finished, a small grin on his face

Crystal nearly laughed out loud, already, someone was hitting on her.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she told him

"Man, don't listen to him, he's just trying to 'subtly' ask you out," Armpit told her. X-Ray shot a glare at him.

"Yeah, and you don't want to go out with him," Zigzag told her

"Why?" Crystal sighed, already knowing the answer

"Because you and I look great together if you ask me,"

Crystal shook her head, yep, she was right

"Sorry, but no."

"Oh I get it, you look for personality not looks huh? Same here! And I think you've got a great personality," Magnet tried

Crystal couldn't help laughing,

"Good one, but still, no,"

"You've all got it wrong guys. She obviously doesn't want to go out with anybody without knowing what they're like, give her time," Squid told them. At first Crystal believed that he wasn't trying to get her, but then he said

"But, girl, looking at you now, I just can't help thinking that we're supposed to be together, don't you think,"

Crystal grinned

"Not really…"

"Well, if it's not any of those guys, how about me?" Armpit suggested

"Sorry, no,"

Armpit shrugged

"Worth a try…"

Crystal decided it was about time she got the message across

"Look, I don't want to go out with anyone, ok? I don't mind being you friend, but, I just don't want a boyfriend right now," she told them

The boys admitted defeat, then the bell for lunch went, Crystal only just realized how hungry she was.

"C'mon Crystal, lets go," x-Ray called, as the other boys filed out of the tent.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Crystal was the second person to sit down at the table, the other person was Zero.

She poked the blob of brown on her tray with her fork,

"Am I supposed to eat this?" she asked

Zero smiled, but said nothing.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.

"Hello Crystal, so, getting on with the boys are you?" Dr. Pendanski asked

Crystal nodded

"They're okay," she said

"Hey, we're more than okay!" Magnet said, pretending to be insulted as he sat down next to her

"Alright, they're great," she grinned

"That's more like it," X-Ray said, sitting at the head of the table.

One by one the boys sat down as she talked to Pendanski.

"Why doesn't Zero talk?" Crystal asked

"Because there's nothing going on in his head. It's nothing personal Crystal, he's just stupid," Pendanski told her

Crystal shook her head, and looked at Zero

"Nah, he doesn't look stupid to me," she decided

Pendanski shrugged and went off to join the other counselors.

She was about to take a mouthful of the brown gloop when she heard a voice from across the table

"Crystal?" Zero said

Everyone went silent and watched Zero

"Yeah?" asked Crystal, also shocked that he was talking,

"Thanks," he said

Crystal smiled at him, and turned round to the other boys

"I told you he wasn't stupid,"

Zigzag shrugged,

"Just because he can say two words, doesn't mean he's not stupid,"

Crystal looked back at Zero, who had gone back to silently eating his food.

* * *

**Authors Note - sorry about the slow update! and the short chapter! I will update quicker next time, oh and thanks to all the people who have reviewed! you make me feel very happy :)**


	4. Chapter 4

That evening, Crystal was returning from her shower, despite everything, she found herself in a reasonably good mood. She looked up at the sky, and saw it filled with different shapes of purple and orange. She smiled, she loved watching the sunset, still watching the sky, she sat down on the railings outside the mess hall. Unfortunately, there was a building in the way of the actual sun; she tried to tilt her head to see it, she caught a glimpse of the corner, she kept tilting and tilting, and then stopped. It took a few seconds to register her head was leaning on something. Her eyes traveled down from the sky to see what it was, and found themselves staring at a pair of soft brown eyes, instantly she realized her head was on someone's shoulder, she jerked it up so it was straight again,

"Sorry! I didn't know there was anyone there!" she said quickly

"It's okay, I should have said something sooner," the other person said

She turned around to see who was talking, then she smiled

"Well, would you look at that, I wasn't imagining you talk before,"

Zero smiled back,

"Why don't you talk to the others?" Crystal asked

Zero shrugged

"I just don't like answering their stupid questions,"

"I knew it wasn't because _you're_ stupid,"

Zero gave her a grateful smile

A few minutes passed, both of them watching the sky become dark, neither of them knowing what to say. Crystal decided to break the silence

"Is it hard here?"

Zero nodded,

"Yeah, you're gonna find yourself hurting like hell by tomorrow,"

"Not to mention having to eat that brown stuff…"

Zero laughed

"But you should be okay, you seem to be able to get on with everyone here" he reassured her

"Just as long as none of them try to ask me out again," she said

"That was pretty funny though," Zero said, laughing again

Crystal nodded and looked back up to the sky, now studded with stars

She thought about everything that had happened since she got here, then she thought about Zero. For a guy who hardly talks, she thought to herself, he sure is good company. She turned back to him and said

"You know what Zero?" she said, "I like you,"

Zero looked questioningly at her

"You're the first guy I've met since I got here that hasn't tried to hit on me,"

"Well you're the first person I've met since I got here who hasn't thought I was stupid,"

Crystal smiled at him, and then remembered something,

"Hey Zero?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind being my mentor?"

Zero looked surprised, then grinned and nodded

"Though I don't think the other guys will be too pleased,"

"Oh man, I can't wait to see the look on their faces!" Crystal said, smirking

* * *

**Authors note: I'm so proud of this chapter - its so cute! Hope you enjoyed reading it, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: hiya! sorry about being reeeeaaaaally late at updating, I've just been in this singing compotition at my school so I've been spending all my time practising! (I didn't even win, but oh well...) anyway, hope this chapter makes up for it, and I'll try to update quicker next time!!!**

* * *

"Crystal! Nice to have you back!" Dr Pendanski said as she and Zero entered the tent.

Crystal looked around, the beds had all been pushed to the sides and her campmates were all sprawled on broken wooden chairs in a messy circle. She found herself an empty chair between Squid and X-Ray and turned to Pendanski.

"Okay, what's going on now?" she asked

"We were just having a little counseling session; perhaps you'd like to join us?"

"Oh joy…" Crystal muttered sarcastically

"Aw c'mon Crystal, don't be a spoil sport, its fun! Isn't it boys?" Pendanski tried

The boys all murmured un-enthusiastically.

Pendanski seemed oblivious to this and carried on

"Now, today we're discussing what we want to be when we're grown up, what about you Crystal? What do you want to be when you're older?"

Crystal groaned, pre-school all over again.

"Well, I dunno," she shrugged, "I guess I've always wanted to work with animals, but…"

"How come?" Squid asked

Crystal was surprised, until now, she guessed that all the boys weren't paying attention

"Probably because I've loved space animals and all that stuff since I was a little girl. My favorites were always foxes, because they're so cute!…my brother used to show me pictures and tell me about them all the time, before he…" Crystal stopped, her throat had gone dry, she didn't trust herself to speak anymore. The others seemed to have noticed something to and didn't question it any further. Pendanski, however, wasn't so smart;

"Go on Crystal, what happened to him?"

Crystal's dark blue eyes simply glared at him from under her fringe, they looked slightly wetter than normal. Armpit hastily changed the subject

"So…err…you like foxes, huh?"

Crystal gave him a grateful smile, even if it was the first thing that came into his head; she was relieved she had something else to talk about

"Yeah, that's why this is my favourite top! And at home I've got a whole collection of stuffed foxes. I was gonna have red highlights in my hair, so I could look like a fox, but my mom made me have blue," she told them, not sure if they'd care but not really bothered either

X-Ray raised his head and studied her hair from behind his dirty glasses

"So it is, I though it was just black, but yeah, I can see some blue in there,"

"Right, well it seems we're going a bit off topic now, so we'll end this session here" Pendanski said, then just before he left, he told them lights out was in five minutes.

* * *

As they were climbing into their smelly cots, Squid came over to Crystal and asked if she'd chosen her mentor yet. Crystal nodded

"Yup, Zero!"

The whole tent seemed to stop completely; all eyes stared questioningly at her

"What?"

The others shrugged and went back to their beds; however, Crystal couldn't help but see X-Ray give her a hurt look before he pulled up the covers

"You alright X?" she asked

He sighed and muttered

"I s'pose it's just a mentor…"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: hooray I have finally got round to finishing this story after a two year hiatus. Hope you enjoy guys, cheers for being patient. This chapter is actually pretty old, something I never got round to uploading but hopefully chapters after this will benefit from my new, more refined writing style (:

* * *

**

Crystal woke up in the middle of the night, it was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything. She wrinkled her nose; she wished she couldn't _smell_ anything, her bed smelled like someone had been sick on it a long time ago. She tried to put the image out her head and concentrated on going back to sleep. When she found it impossible, she rolled onto her stomach and lifted her head up, so she could look around. As her eyes got used to the dark, she could see three silhouettes sat on their beds; they seemed to be in mid-conversation. She held her breath and listened closely

"…well, she may be good-looking, but she isn't half cold," she could hear X-Ray's voice saying

She heard Squid laugh

"Nah, she's alright, your just annoyed 'cos she rejected you,"

She saw X-Ray shrug

"Still pretty sly if you ask me. Like a fox"

"Fox, I like that. She's not that bad, but she is gorgeous, and it matches her top," Armpit muttered, to no one in particular

Squid nodded

"Fox it is," he agreed

Crystal wondered what they were talking about, and then decided to let them carry on talking about foxes. She closed her eyes, and with difficulty, went back to sleep.

* * *

"Hey Fox, morning, wake up!" Crystal heard a voice above her. Someone was shaking her as well. She opened a dark blue eye,

"What!?" she grumbled. She had never been a morning person

"C'mon Fox, up!" Squid was saying

It took a while for Crystal to realize that she had just been given a nickname, like everyone else. Fox. She smiled, it was unique, and made her an official member of the group

"I'm up, I'm up…" she yawned and slowly rolled herself off the bed. She looked out the tent to see the stars were still out

"What time is it?" she asked

"Half four," Magnet told her

She stared at him in disbelief

"It's so we don't have to dig when it's hottest," Armpit explained

She groaned and grabbed her clothes to get changed in the changing room they had put next to the tent. When she was finished, she found Zero waiting outside for her

"Ready?" he asked

"No." she told him, yawning widely

He smiled and led her to the huge group of campers waiting for their shovels.

"Hey! Fox! Over here!" X-Ray called,

Crystal and Zero walked over to where the D-tent group was standing.

Before she could say 'good morning', Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski came up to the front and opened up the storage cupboard. One buy one, tired campers came up and took their shovel, then went over to a table to pick up their breakfast.

Once everyone had finished eating, Pendanski took D-tent over to where they were supposed to be digging, and then he turned to Crystal,

"So, Crystal, have you chosen your mentor yet?"

Crystal nodded

"Sure have, Zero."

Whatever Pendanski had been expecting, it definitely wasn't that. He sprayed some of his coffee over the dry dirt.

"Zero!? Why Zero? He won't be able to tell you anything!" He spluttered, "You might as well ask a scorpion to be your mentor, a scorpion has more brains than him!"

Crystal scowled,

"Evidently, a scorpion has more brains than you, sir. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to start digging now,"

Pendanski didn't know what to say. Instead he told her that if she found anything interesting, she was to tell him or Mr. Sir. Then he got into his car and drove back to camp.

Crystal looked down at the dirt and attempted to dig her shovel in. It bounced off the hard ground and slipped out her fingers.

She tried again, the same thing happened. She turned around to Zero, who was lifting his third shovelful of dirt out the ground.

"How the hell do you do that!?" she asked

Zero walked over to her. He didn't say anything, but showed her how to dig the shovel into a crack and then lift the dirt out.

Crystal watched him demonstrate a few more times then took the shovel off him

"Thanks, I can do it now,"

Zero nodded then went back to his hole.

She grabbed the shovel and with a great effort, managed to break off a piece of dry dirt. She flung it onto the pile and looked at what she had done. I tiny dent could be seen in the ground. She sighed; this was going to take a long time. She looked down at her fox T-shirt and patted the fox-head for luck, and then she dug the shovel in again and started the impossible task.

* * *

Crystal had had her lucky fox since she was three, back then she could wear it as a sort-of dress. Her brother had given it to as a good-bye present before he went off to camp for a year. That was the last time she'd ever seen him.

Crystal tried to stop thinking about him, it was to hard to remember him, whenever she did, she felt an overwhelming sadness sweep over her. Back at home, when her parents were at work, she would sit on her bed, remembering old times, wishing that things were different, often, her parents would come back to find her pillow wet with tears.

"Hey Fox! You ok?" Armpit asked,

Crystal looked up from her hole, unaware of what she had been doing for the last ten minutes.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine!" she said, putting on a smile

"Are you sure? You seemed kind of out-of-it," Magnet said

She nodded

"I'm okay, my hands just hurt, that's all,"

She wished she hadn't said that, she now found her hands throbbing with pain.

"Try wearing gloves, they're extremely hot, but your hands don't blister as much,"

Crystal vowed to bring some tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

_There was a loud banging at the door. Crystal sat up sharply, her heart pounding against her chest. The noise was relentless. From the room next to her, she could hear her parents running to open the door. There was a murmur of voices; Crystal couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She slipped out of her bed and tiptoed over to her bedroom door, pressing her ear against the wood._

"_No...He wouldn't...he couldn't....you must have the wrong person!" Her mother was crying, she sounded shocked and scared._

"_I'm sorry ma'am. We're going to have to take him, we're pretty sure it was him, we have a witness." A strange male voice answered her_

"_Not my son, he wouldn't do that!"_

_Crystal had no idea what was happening. There was a blur of noise, and then the door closed, leaving her mother weeping in the hall._

* * *

Crystal's eyes flickered open. She sat up slowly. What was that dream? She knew it had happened before...when she was very little. She shook her head; she needed to get some air. She crept out of the tent and wandered around the camp, feeling gratefully the cool breeze of the night.

"Can't sleep either?" a voice asked, startling her. She turned around and smiled in relief.

"Zero, you scared me" she said.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. What're you doing out here?"

Zero didn't say anything at first. His deep brown eyes gazed out into the distance, watching the glistening stars in the blackness.

"I was just thinking...about the past," he said quietly.

"Me too."

"Your brother?" Zero asked, still not meeting her gaze. Then he looked down quickly, ashamed, "Sorry, that's not my business, I shouldn't have asked."

Crystal took a step towards him and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry so much Zero. Yes, I was thinking about my brother, I had a dream, from back when I was three."

"What happened?"

"I don't know all that well to be honest. It's kind of a blur. There was a strange man; he was saying my brother had done something. And then they took my brother away."

Zero looked up at her, his face warm with sympathy.

"I'm so sorry. Did you see him again after that?"

Crystal nodded.

"Yeah, he came back for a bit. And then went off to camp. I didn't see him after that. No one has."

Zero rested a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry I asked. You never know, he could still be alive."

"That's the worst part though, not being sure if he's alive or not."

Zero nodded in agreement.

"I know how that feels. I've lost my mother. One day she just disappeared. I never saw her again."

Crystal looked at him, surprised. It was her turn to say sorry.

They stood there for a while in silence, reflecting on their memories, watching the stars in the sky.

* * *

The next day, Crystal was in her usual bright mood as she chatted to the other D-tent members on her way to the stretch of desert.

"I see you've got some hand protection today," Magnet said, pointing at her hands.

Crystal nodded smiling. She had successfully managed to dig out a pair of striped orange and white fingerless gloves from her suitcase.

Squid laughed; "God Fox, you make us look so scruffy with all your matching gear. You almost make digging look good"

Armpit nodded wisely.

"You see Squid, she's a woman. Accessorizing is what she does best,"

Crystal laughed

"Um, cheers Armpit."

"No problem, it is my duty to find all the perfections in the ladies," he said, and then let out a laugh himself.

X-Ray shook his head.

"Man Armpit, I don't know where you get this stuff from. Just ignore him Fox. He's got an ego bigger than his stomach."

They stopped at the point where they would be digging. X-Ray patted Crystal on the back.

"Just let me know if you need any help there Fox,"

Zigzag laughed and elbowed Magnet.

"He just doesn't know when to give up does he,"

X-ray turned around to face them.

"No guys, you see, I've got her figured out. She's playing hard to get: but no one can resist the X-Ray" and with that he turned around and swaggered off to his hole.

Crystal couldn't help but laugh. She didn't bother to point out that he was wrong. If it made him happy, he could believe it.

* * *

The day wore on, and Crystal could feel the sweat dripping down over her face. She paused for a moment to wipe her forehead and looked down. She stopped. There was a piece of metal in the sand, glinting brightly off the sunlight. She bent down took pick it up. It was a necklace, with a tag on the end. She looked up and saw Pendanski's van driving over. Should she give it to him? She turned the tag over and gasped.

It was a fox.

* * *

**A/N: dun dun dunnn. Haven't done a cliff-hanger in a while. Hope you enjoy (: please review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Crystal looked down at her hand, stunned. She felt her skin go ice cold, despite the sun baking down on her back. Slowly her legs gave way and she sunk to the floor. She had seen this before. It was the same fox as the one on her T-shirt. Whoever had this knew her brother. The sound of voices above her drew her back to reality.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know she just kind of collapsed,"

"Fox, are you okay?"

"It's probably the heat, give her some space,"

Crystal looked up and saw the faces of her fellow D-Tent campers staring down at her, all looking concerned. She smiled weakly.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine, I'm just tired,"

"Are you sure about that Fox? You look kind of pale," Magnet asked, offering her a hand and helping her up.

Crystal nodded, brushing the dirt off.

"What have you got there?" X–Ray asked, pointing at the necklace, "Did you find it?"

"Yeah, I mean...no, its mine, I just found it then, I must've dropped it before..." she said quickly. She placed it in her pocket before anyone else noticed it. She would look at it later.

"Well come on, Pendanski's here, lets get some water" Armpit suggested.

Crystal nodded silently and followed them to the large truck.

As they were waiting for their water, a hand rested on Crystal's arm, she turned around and saw Zero's dark eyes looking at her with a quiet understanding.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I...I'm just a bit shook up." She told him.

Zero nodded, and didn't say anything else.

Crystal went forward for her water, Pendanski smiled cheerily down at her.

"So Crystal, are you fitting in alright?"

"Yo Mom, she's Fox, not Crystal" Squid informed him from his hole.

"Oh got yourself a nickname now, have you? Funny, Fox sounds familiar; I think we've had a Fox before..."

"Really? Who was it? Anyone we'd know?"Zigzag asked him

Pendanski shrugged

"I don't know, I can't remember them, they've probably been freed a long time ago."

* * *

"My god, I'm officially exhausted," Crystal sighed and she flopped down on the old battered sofa in the wreck room.

Squid collapsed next to her and groaned in agreement.

"Funny, you'd think you'd get used to it after a while" he said.

Crystal grimaced

"You mean, it doesn't get any easier?"

"Well I don't know, you sort of just get used to it rather than it becoming easier. But I tell you what I can't wait to get out of here."

They sat there quietly for a while, watching the others play pool, all looking very competitive.

"Why Zero?" Squid asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Why Zero as a mentor, I mean, he's a good kid, but I would've thought someone like you would've appreciated the company of someone more talkative."

"Like you, you mean?"

Squid grinned.

"I guess, but don't worry, I'm not trying to suggest anything, I'm just genuinely curious. No ones really ever managed to get much out of Zero,"

"I don't really know to be honest. At the time I suppose I saw you all as girl-starved criminals, no offence..."

"Non taken, its probably true"

"But Zero seemed different, he didn't try to ask me out, and he seemed really misunderstood, I felt like I should be the one that should be there for him."

Squid nodded, deep in thought.

"Makes sense I guess. You must've had a bit of a bad experience before coming,"

Crystal nodded.

"But you don't feel like talking about it right now? I get it."

Crystal smiled in appreciation and got up off the sofa.

"Thanks Squid, you're a good guy,"

"I try my best" he laughed

Crystal gave him another small smile and walked out. She sighed; the camp was so full of boys, all staring at her. But it was her choice, and she had to live with it. She thought back to her trial. She wanted to come here because she recognized the name, she still hadn't figured out why. But there was definitely something in the air, she could sense it.

"Lost in thought again huh?" a voice said. She looked up and saw Zero smiling at her.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Suddenly, Zero grabbed her hand, taking her by surprise and began leading her off.

"Follow me; we're going to take your mind off things,"

Crystal followed him speechless. His hand was warm and comforting around hers, a small voice inside her wished it would stay there forever. She looked up at him, and the voice started to grow stronger. She shook her head furiously. No, she didn't come here to fall in love, friends were okay but she'd had it with boyfriends, especially criminal boyfriends. As they walked, her thoughts returned to the day the police came for her...

* * *

"_Jack, why are you here," Crystal asked, as she opened the door to find her boyfriend stood there looking scared and jittery._

"_Crys, baby, I need your help. Is anyone home?"_

_Crystal shook her head and allowed him into the hall. He was soaking wet and out of breath, it looked like he'd been running in the rain for ages._

"_What happened?" she asked, laying her hand gently on his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him._

"_I...I'm really scared Crys, they're after me," he whispered into her shoulder. She felt a wave of concern wash through her. It was probably that gang that were going around there town, bored and looking for a victim. She bristled with fury. How dare they try and hurt her Jack._

"_Don't worry Jack, I won't let them get you," she told him_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_If course I'm sure, I love you," she told him. He smiled at her and pressed him lips against hers. _

"_I love you too Crys," he murmured. He made his way through to the living room and sat down on her sofa. She sat down too and moved closer to him. Their lips touched again, parting slowly. His hands moved up her back, crushing her against him. Their kiss became more and more passionate. Then suddenly he pulled away. Crystal pushed herself up from on top of him, her hair dangling down, tickling his face._

"_Will you help me?" he asked her, his hand caressing her face._

"_I already told you I would,"_

_He smiled, "I can always trust you." He moved out from underneath her and grabbed the bag he had left abandoned in the hall. He opened it and produced a collection of expensive items, without saying a word he began hiding them around her house._

"_Jack, what the hell are you doing?" Crystal asked him._

"_I'm hiding these."_

_Crystal gasped, had he _stolen _them?_

"_Who exactly are you running from?" she asked, a sense of betrayal over-coming her. She had been so happy lying on the sofa with him a few moments ago, but not this? What was he doing?_

"_The police," he told her, no sense of remorse in his voice at all._

_She sprung up from the sofa._

"_Holy shit Jack, what did you do?"_

"_I stole these, but you can hide them and it'll blow over, don't worry baby,"_

"_Don't call me baby! I can't believe you're doing this!" She fumed_

"_Oh c'mon Crys, don't be such a pain, you said you'd help me,"_

"_I didn't mean I'd help you break the law!"_

_Suddenly he span around and grabbed her wrist, pushing her against the wall._

"_You will help me, I am not being caught. Come on, you said you loved me," he said, pressing his lips against her violently. She squirmed out the way._

"_Get _off _me; I could never love a criminal!"_

_Jack roared with fury and lunged at her, as though he was an animal. He delved in his bag again and pulled out a blade. Crystal started shaking in fear, her heart pounding against her chest._

"_Jack stop it!" She pleaded_

_Suddenly there was a rapping at the door. Crystal looked through the window and saw a large crowd of police cars outside. She sighed with relief and turned to Jack._

"_Games up Jack, the police are here," she said, her voice still shaky._

_Jack panicked, and then turned to her again with a mad gleam in his eye._

"_I don't think so," he whispered coarsely. He raised the knife. She closed her eyes in terror, waiting for the blow to come. But none came. The front door burst open. She opened her eyes. Jack was in front of her, slashing wildly at his own skin, blood streaming down his ripped clothes._

"_Jack! For god's sake!" She screamed, and leapt forward and grabbed the knife from his hands. Just then the police came in the room. _

"_Officer! Thank god! She just turned on me!" Jack sobbed, pushing his way out of Crystal's reach and making his way over to the police man._

"_What..." Crystal muttered._

"_What happened here?" The police asked, looking down at Jack's mutilated state._

"_I...I came here to tell Crystal this was enough. I'd had enough of covering for her stealing things. I came in and she was hiding stuff, look there's some behind the bookcase. I told her it was over and she...she sort of went crazy, she started attacking me with this knife, the one in her hand, I didn't think I'd survive."_

_Crystal tried to protest, but she could tell how it looked to the police. And Jack was a convincing liar._

"_Right, someone call an ambulance for this boy. You, Crystal you're coming with us." A man put his hand firmly on her shoulder and led her out of the room._

* * *

"Crystal? Crystal? Oh god, Crystal, what's wrong?" Zero asked panicking. Crystal's eyes were streaming with tears. She was shaking uncontrollably. She collapsed on the floor, letting out loud, harrowing sobs.

Zero rested a hand on her shoulders, his eyes whirling with panic.

"Crystal! Speak to me, what's wrong?"

"I...I was just remembering...how I got here..." she told him, in between her tears.

Zero wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head against his chest. They sat there in silence for a long time, until Crystal had finally calmed down. Zero but a hand under her chin and lifted her head so she could meet his warm gaze.

"You'd better tell me the whole story," he said softly.

* * *

**A/N: ooh that was a bit more intense than I intended haha. Bit of a long chapter, and a bit more disjointed than I would've normally liked, but I hope you enjoyed it, please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

"I...I don't really know what to say, but I'm so sorry," Zero said quietly.

Crystal nodded weakly, that was the first time she had told anyone the whole story, and it had left her extremely emotionally drained.

They sat there in silence for a while in each other's arms. Neither really knowing what to say. Soon, the sun began to set and the intense heat was replaced by a cool breeze. Slowly Zero stood up.

"Come on, the others will be wondering where you are," he muttered, offering her a hand.

Crystal followed him, her hand still in his. She didn't know why, but she found it comforting to know that he was there next to her.

"Zero?" she asked shakily.

"Yes?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Zero smiled reassuringly at her.

"Crystal, I don't talk to anyone but you. I'm not going to give anything away."

Crystal squeezed his hand.

"Thanks,"

* * *

"Where _have _you been?" X-Ray shouted when Crystal and Zero entered the tent. He glowered down at her, his hands placed firmly on his hips, like a mother scolding a child. "I've been worried _sick _Fox, No one's seen you for ages!"

Crystal sighed heavily, she didn't really feel like talking, but she couldn't let the others see her like this. She forced a smile.

"I was just on a walk with Zero," she said, "you worry too much X," she trudged over to her cot and collapsed down.

"Wow Fox, you look seriously beat," Magnet commented.

"I am," she told him wearily.

At that moment, Pendanski walked into the tent, a handful of fold out chairs under each arm.

"Come on campers, its counselling time!" He called cheerfully.

Crystal groaned. That man had the worst timing ever. She rolled herself off her bed and made her way slowly to a chair as far away from Pendanski as possible.

"Are you alright there Crystal? You don't look like yourself, are you feeling ill?" He asked her

"I'm fine, just tired,"

He let out a small chuckle.

"Yes, I guess most people feel like that around here, you'll get used to it, won't she boys?"

The boys let out an incoherent mumble in response.

Undeterred, Pendanski set himself down at the head of the circle.

"So, today, we're going to be talking about relationships, something you're going to have to work on when you leave here."

Crystal froze in her seat. Yes, it was true. That man truly did have the worst timing ever.

"So, what do we need to look for in a relationship?" he asked, looking around the circle.

Armpit raised an arm.

"Yes Theodore?"

"Mom, I feel a little uncomfortable discussing this with a girl in the room,"

Crystal couldn't help but laugh loudly with the others.

"Cheers 'Pit. I'll just leave then shall I?" she grinned.

"Don't worry Crystal, you're fine," Pendanski reassured her.

"No, seriously, can I go?" she tried.

"No." Pendanski answered, glaring a little.

Crystal sighed and fell back into her chair.

"Right, now back to the question, any suggestions?"

"Hey, why don't you ask little Romeo there?" Squid asked, nodding towards Zero.

"Oh, Romeo are you Zero? Been charming our lovely Crystal?" Pendanski asked, an amused look on his face.

Zero said nothing.

"I wouldn't call it charming," X-Ray said quickly, "He's just her mentor,"

"Are you kidding X? Those two are always together," Armpit argued.

Crystal felt a faint blush creep across her face. Did everyone think that? She hadn't noticed how much time she spent around Zero...

"Go on Zero, what's the most important thing in a relationship?"

"Trust," he said quietly, avoiding Crystal's direction.

Pendanski nodded.

"Yes, I suppose trust is important. And that's where you're all going to find some difficulty; is anyone going to trust a criminal?" He looked around the circle; all members looked down at the floor uncomfortably.

"You need to get to know the person first," Crystal said quietly. Everyone span around to face her. She kept her eyes down as she spoke. "People change, they just need to be given a second chance. If you meet someone you truly love, and it turned out to be someone who used to go to camp green lake, you shouldn't judge them right away, you should get to know them. They might have been misunderstood, and just needed someone to get to know them, and then you might learn that they are trust worthy, despite their past." She looked up and saw everyone staring at her. "Sorry that didn't make much sense, did it...?"

X-Ray shook his head,

"No, that made perfect sense. I just wish you know, everyone could say things like that," he said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, it sounds like you really understand this subject don't you Crystal. Is there a special someone back home?" Pendanski asked, smiling.

Crystal froze. The idiot, had he not read her file?

"I...I don't really want to talk about that..."

"Oh come on, share and share alike, eh? Why don't you tell us about him?"

"No...I can't...talk about it."

"You can talk about anything to us; it's the circle of trust, right Zero?"

Crystal started to shake a little; she gripped her knees firmly, digging in her nails. She wished he'd just stop.

"Don't be shy Crystal; we're all waiting to hear about your boyfriend."

Zero stood up and glared at him.

"She _said _she didn't want to talk about it, okay?" he shouted

Everyone looked up at Zero in shock. They had hardly heard him speak a word, let alone shout.

While everyone was looking at Zero, Crystal took the opportunity to sneak out the tent. She made her way through the moonlight to a quiet, dark spot. She sat down on the sandy earth and took the tag out of her pocket. She ran her fingers along the lines of the fox. It felt so cold...

"It's about the girl, she can't find out!" She suddenly heard a voice shout. She span around, trying to find the source of the voice. Was it talking about her?

"Excuse me?" A second voice asked.

Crystal crawled along towards the voices. She came across a small cabin, surrounded by trees. There was light shining in through a window. Inside she could see Mr Sir, brandishing a file. He was talking to a tall red-headed woman, who didn't look impressed. She had her hands firmly on her hips and her lips had tightened into a thin, crimson line.

"That girl that we let in, I was reading through her files, and look, look who her brother is!" he shoved a piece of typed paper into the woman's face. The woman grasped it in her long red nails. Her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you show me this before?" she demanded.

"Well, I just saw it..." he said nervously.

"You Idiot! You should have researched her before allowing her to come!" she screeched.

"Well she came here of her own free will...she asked to go to camp green lake,"

The woman gasped.

"She _asked _to? What if she knows already?"

"How could she possibly know?"

The woman flailed her arms, "How should I know! No one found out! But no girl just _asks _to go to camp green lake,"

Suddenly Crystal heard the sound of running behind her. She ducked behind a bush and saw Pendanski running towards the house.

"Ma'am, Crystal's gone missing!" he called.

The woman turned around, her face had suddenly gone pale.

"Go search for her _now_!" she demanded furiously.

Crystal got up; it was time to go back before anyone found her here. As she ran, she thought about what she had heard. These people knew something about her brother, something no one else knew about. And she was determined to find out what it was.

And when Crystal's mind was made up, there was no changing it.

* * *

**A/N: ooh what do they know about her brother (: the suspense haha. I would just like to say a huge thank you to all of you reviewers – you're all so lovely you make writing so much more worthwhile. Please continue reviewing (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: apologies once again for the late updates (: I will try to be more consistent next time! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and now, on to the story...**

* * *

"Zero, what was _that _all about man?" Armpit asked, his fellow tent members closing in on Zero.

"Yeah, do you know something we don't?" Magnet joined in

Zero said nothing. His eyes darted about the tent looking desperately for some means of escape. He'd promised Crystal he wouldn't tell anyone, but these weren't going to juts let his sudden outburst go without notice.

X-Ray looked down at him with an icy cold glare.

"You think you're so special don't you Zero? You think you're Fox's only friend, just because she's nice enough to pity you. She's _our _friend too you know. We care about her just as much as you do. So stop being so selfish already and tell us what's going on!" He spat at him.

Zero's eyes widened at his words. What if what he was saying was right? What if Crystal did only hang out with him out of pity? She had so much more in common with the other campers. He looked up at X-Ray; his eyes were shining with emotion and anger behind his thick glasses. X-Ray really did care about Crystal deeply. He _loved _her. A sharp pang of realisation went through Zero; so did he. He could imagine how he would feel if someone else knew something about Crystal that was hurting her, and they refused to tell him. He'd feel powerless, not worthy to love her. Once more he lifted his brown eyes and looked directly at X-Ray.

"I guess...you're right," he muttered quietly. X-Ray's expression softened.

"So, you'll tell us?"

Zero hesitated, then sighed and nodded.

"Basically –"

"No!" a voice cried from the opening of the tent. All the boys span around to see Crystal stood there. She looked at Zero with a betrayed expression. Clearly, she had been watching the whole conversation.

"I thought...I could trust you..." she whispered, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Isn't that what _you _said? Trust is the most important thing? God, I'm an idiot. You're just like all the other guys aren't you."

Zero opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. What could he say? She was right. She had trusted him to keep it a secret and now he was about to tell everyone.

"Oh thank _goodness, _there you are little lady," Pendanski said behind Crystal's back. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You gave us quite a scare there,"

Crystal said nothing. She covered her eyes under her hair and made her way over to her cot. She collapsed down, facing the wall, staring angrily into space.

* * *

That night, Squid crept silently out of his cot and made his way out into the night. A small, dark figure was stood alone in the sand, looking up at the clear, starry sky.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said.

Zero turned around, his expression blank. Squid walked forward to stand at Zero's side.

"Fox was pretty mad today. It must've been something really bad, huh?"

Zero nodded, saying nothing.

Squid sighed, "I guess it was wrong of us to ask. She trusted you to keep it a secret and we didn't respect that,"

Zero nodded again.

"She'll get over it," he said. Zero looked at him in surprise. Squid smiled at him.

"She can't be mad at you forever. You didn't actually tell us in the end. She thinks too much of you to just let you go."

"But X-Ray said..."

"Never mind what X-Ray said. He's too blind by jealousy to understand. Look, I was talking to her today; she genuinely enjoys spending time with you,"

Zero sighed.

"None of that matters now, she hates me."

Squid stared at him. Not saying anything for a while. Then he smiled.

"You love her, don't you?"

Zero said nothing. Squid placed an understanding hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it man, like I said, she'll get over it,"

Squid made his way over to the tent leaving Zero alone, staring at the stars.

"Crystal..." he whispered into the air, "I...love you."

* * *

The next day, the campers made their way over to the dry expanse of desert. An awkward silence looming over all of them. Crystal walked ten steps ahead of them all, staring angrily at the baron landscape. Zero trailing quietly at the end. Mr Sir pointed to where they were digging. A few yards away from yesterday's holes. Crystal lifted her shovel and pounded the earth, creating a deep crack. She dug relentlessly. Ignoring the searing pain of her blisters and the baking heat of the sun. Her mind was blank, focusing on the hole rather than the night before. She ignored the concerned looks of the campers staring at her. She ignored Zero's lost expression. She ignored everything but the weight of the earth in her shovel. Suddenly, she felt a loud clang run through her shovel. She peered down, once again, the glint of metal shone up at her. She flung her shovel to one side and started clearing away the dirt with her hands. Slowly, she revealed a long pole. A handle on the end of it.

"A shovel?" she whispered to herself. She moved the dirt from the other end and confirmed her suspicion. There was one of camp green lake's infamous five foot shovels. She studied the end of it; there was a browny-red rust like substance smeared across it. She lifted a finger tentatively and touched it. She gave a gasp of horror. It was dried on blood. How long had it been here? She grabbed her own shovel and began digging furiously around the area. Soon enough it hit something else. A plastic bottle. Someone's canteen. She grabbed at the handle and tugged it from the ground. She turned it round to read the faded letters on the side of it. The bottle fell from her hands. Her eyes widened in terror, her mouth open in a silent scream.

"_Fox_"

* * *

**A/N: ooh I'm actually genuinely proud of that cliff-hanger. (: apologies for the short chapter, but I couldn't really add more to it, it would ruin the impact. Sorry if Squids a wee bit out of character. I always pictured him as the more sensitive one for some reason so yeah, that's why he's like the nice one. Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

****

A/N: Hey there Kids, I was supposed to being going out for my friend's gig tonight but then I got some stupid summer cold and now I can't go. Why do you need to know this, you may ask. Because, as I am so horribly bored sat here sneezing under a duvet with Jason Mraz on full blast, I decided to update. Enjoy.

* * *

Zero sighed, he just couldn't dig today: he had too much left on his mind, he just couldn't concentrate. He peered down at his hole, half the size of what it would usually be around this time. He leaned against his shovel, his brown eyes gazed forward, lost in thought. Squid's words from the night before had begun to sink in. Would she get over it and talk to him again? He wished with all his heart that she would, so he could tell her how he felt. Of course, what good would that do, she rejected every single one of his fellow campers without a second thought, and after her past, who could blame her? A slight frown crossed his face. If she didn't want a boyfriend, why on earth did she choose to come to Camp Green Lake? No girl had ever chosen to come here; no girl had even _heard _of Camp Green Lake. His thoughts began to get even more confused. How had she heard of Camp Green Lake?

"_he came back for a bit. And then went off to camp" _

Zero's eyes opened widely. How had he not realised it before? Her brother was sent to Camp Green Lake! Of course, she must never had put the two together. Her parents must've just told her that he had gone to a normal camp, like all the other boys. She had never seen her brother as a criminal. Zero raised his shovel once more. He had a plan to renew Crystal's faith in him.

* * *

Crystal reached down slowly, her fingers trembling. Fox. Pendanski had said there was someone who used to be called that. He said they'd been freed a long time ago. That he couldn't remember them. Crystal looked down at the canteen, then at the blood stained shovel, then at the cold fox-tag. Her blue eyes narrowed in concentration. _Maybe, _Pendanski hadn't forgotten at all. Maybe, something bad happened to Fox, and Pendanski had been sworn to secrecy. She traced her finger across the lettering on the bottle sadly.

"Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll find out what happened to you,"

* * *

That evening, Crystal made her way silently over to her normal table in the canteen. She placed a forkful of mush in her mouth and chewed slowly in contemplation.

"Woah Fox, I don't think I've seen you so quiet, you alright?" Magnet asked as he took his seat next to her.

Crystal nodded slowly, still not saying anything.

"Oh I get it, she's doing a Zero," Zigzag said, grinning at her. She shot him a glare which made him instantly regret his words. She swallowed and then said.

"No Zig, unlike everyone else in here, I refuse to give up my manners," she retorted.

"Yeah Zig, just 'cos you eat like a pig doesn't mean everyone else has to," X-Ray agreed, as he discretely slipped his elbows off the table and peered over at Crystal to mimic the way she was holding her fork, causing Armpit to snort with laughter.

"You okay there 'Pit?" Crystal asked him, forcing herself to sound casual.

He nodded, "Yeah sorry Fox, I just can't believe X, he's so hopelessly in love with..." suddenly he was interrupted by a sharp elbow in the ribs from X-Ray. "...correct table etiquette." He said, glowering at X-Ray.

"Table etiquette eh? Must be a fairly recent passion," Squid commented.

"I know right, isn't it funny how it started around the time Fox mentioned it," Magnet joined in.

The entire table started laughing, except for X-Ray who sat with an indignant scowl on his face, and Crystal who was still lost in thought.

"Does anyone know where they keep the records of past campers?" Crystal suddenly asked, breaking the laughter. The boys turned around at her in surprise.

"Why do you want to know?" Squid asked

Crystal shrugged, trying to think of a decent excuse.

"I don't know, just wondering," was all that she could think of.

"It's the small building by the Warden's cabin, the one where Mr Sir meets everyone when they first come here. Right by the camp leader's tent," Zigzag told her.

Crystal nodded attempting to feign mild interest.

* * *

After what seemed like hours, the boys from her tent had finally gone for their showers, leaving Crystal alone. She crept out of the tent, peering around the camp to check no one was watching her. Silently she ran over the dirt, to the place she had overheard Mr Sir and the woman talking the night before. Voices started murmuring near her; she dived into a bush and watched through the cracks in the leaves. Two camp leaders were walking towards the building where the records were kept. One of them holding out a big set of keys. He locked up the room.

"So any ideas what we're doing tonight?" one of them asked.

"Well, Andy managed to smuggle in some beer without Lou noticing, we figured we could watch the game, you know, skip counselling for one night," his companion answered, placing the keys back in his pocket.

"Sounds good to me, what time does it start?"

"'Bout five minutes I think,"

The two of them walked off, making their way over to the tent. Crystal couldn't believe her luck; all of the tent leaders would be busy for at least two hours, which gave her plenty of time to find the other Fox. She waited in silence for a while until she heard the definite sounds of a TV whirring. Once she was sure that everyone was distracted, she made her way over to the building. She paced around the corner and found an open window, just big enough for someone to squeeze through; it was all too perfect. She smiled slightly and pulled herself into the room.

"Crystal?" a voice asked in the corner. She whirled around in panic. To her surprise Zero was stood there, looking equally as shocked.

"What're _you _doing here?" they asked in unison. Zero sighed and then put down the folder he had been looking at.

"Um...Crystal, I know this might sound like an odd question, but...Can you read?" he asked quietly.

Crystal's expression softened, she almost forgot how betrayed Zero had made her feel.

"You can't?" she asked. He shook his head and handed her the file. She scanned it and raised an eyebrow.

"This is mine." She said, showing him her photo.

"I know, can you read your second name to me?"

"Brown."

"Okay. Can you find Brown then?" he asked, indicating a long shelf crammed with files.

Crystal looked at him in confusion then looked through the files.

"There's loads of Browns." She said.

"Give me all of them," he told her, offering her no other explanation. She shook her head and passed the files to him. One by one he picked a file up, scanned the photo, and then replaced it and placed it back on the shelf. Crystal sat down opposite him, lifting a file from the pile.

"Is this a hobby of yours?" she asked, opening her file and looking down at the photo. She gasped, raising her hand to her mouth. Zero looked up sharply.

"Read it out," he said.

Crystal choked and then began croakily.

"Name, Tyrone Brown. Age, seventeen, Family, Celia Brown, mother, Kevin Brown, father...Crystal Brown, sister..."

Zero looked up at her tear filled eyes.

"That's what happened to your brother," he said softly.

* * *

**A/N: isn't Zero a little genius. Hope you enjoyed it (: Please review! I have to say I love the canteen bit (: they sound like some fun guys **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello all! I am so terribly sorry at my extremely late update. First I got Swine Flu, then I met my rather amazing new boyfriend which kept me rather preoccupied, then I got a kidney infection, then I went to France and now I'm back. But enough excuses; I'm sure all you really care about is the next chapter. Thanks for being so patient (:

* * *

**

"Zero...How did you know?" Crystal whispered hoarsely. She could hardly see through the thick stream of tears pouring from her eyes. Her brother, the brother she had lost so many years ago had come here.

"I guessed, I thought that there must've been a reason you recognized Camp Green Lake, and then it hit me, he went to Camp Green Lake and never came back." Zero told her softly. Crystal nodded quickly, unable to speak. Zero moved forward silently, he hesitated, then reached out to Crystal, resting his soft hand on her tear-stained cheek.

"Crystal, it's okay, I'm here. I want to help you find out what happened to your brother, I want to help you," his brown eyes shone with sincerity as he stared at her. Crystal wiped her face then shook her head, giving him a small smile.

"Sorry Zero, you've done enough. This is something I have to find out on my own, I owe it to him. But I appreciate what you've done."

"So, are we cool?" Zero asked hopefully.

Crystal paused for a moment, looking up at him, then stood up and turned away.

"I made a mistake coming here. I made a mistake being your friend. You're a great guy Zero, in any other circumstance, I would be happy to hang out with you, but I can't trust people anymore; I don't think I can afford to get close to people for a while now..." she told him, then climbed up out of the window and making her way back to the tent. Zero stood up after her and kicked the bookcase.

"Yeah Squid, course she'll get over it." He muttered angrily. Suddenly he heard a voice coming towards the building; he jumped out of the window instantly hiding behind the dark walls.

"You _idiot. _You told me years ago that you'd destroyed it!" The familiar voice of the Warden cried.

"Well, it was really busy then, I forgot..." Mr Sir protested

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I was busy sorting out Silver"

"And are you not capable of destroying a folder while dealing with Silver?"

"Well Silver was a handful..."

"I don't care, just open the door and destroy Fox's god-damn file!"

Zero gasped silently in surprise. Why were they destroying Crystal's file? The sounds of keys rattling broke the silence for a while, and then the door slowly creaked open.

"Um, Lou...you might want to have a look at this..." Mr Sir said, his voice shaking with fear.

"What is it _now_?" she asked.

"Someone's been looking at his file..."

"Excuse me?"

"Right there, Tyrone Brown, its open."

A loud bang crashed inside the room. Zero peered in, Mr Sir was sprawled across the floor, clutching his face in pain. In the doorway, the Warden stood, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"You _idiot. _She knows! If you had just destroyed Fox's fucking file when I told you to, none of this would've happened!" She spat at him.

The Warden then made her way out of the door, turning around towards the Counsellors' tent. Zero got up and ran back towards his own tent. He had to tell Crystal about this, whether she wanted him to or not.

* * *

Crystal stood in silence in the empty plain outside the camp. Dozens of empty holes surrounded her, a dark blanket of night wrapped all around. She didn't want to go back to her tent. She couldn't face talking to anyone right now; she needed to be alone with her thoughts.

For some reason, her brother had been sent to Camp Green Lake, and had never returned. There was also something Mr Sir and the Warden knew about him that no one else did. Clearly something had happened to him here. She reached at the tag around her neck, pulling it up to look at the fox head.

"What happened to you here?" she asked softly.

* * *

**A/N: apologies for the very short chapter, but I couldn't really add much more to it without giving too much away. Though I reckon by this time you can probably make an educated guess at what happened to her brother. I shall endeavour to update sooner next time. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: hello! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a good year, I started college which has just been one mad deadline after another and consequently forgot all about writing fanfiction. It was only yesterday when I was sat in Japan on an exchange trip that my friend mentioned that she used to love the film holes so I showed her this fanfic and then I realized that I should really finish! So here we go…**

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* * *

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It was around midnight that Crystal finally returned to her tent. The lights were out, leaving the air still and dark. She peered around the door to check that no one was awake then crept across the dirt covered floor into her own cot.

"Finally back huh?" a low voice whispered across the blackness

"Sorry Squid, I had something I needed to do"

"But your not going to tell us what it is are you?"

Crystal said nothing, she merely stared over at the dark figure of Squid. She saw the faint line of his smile stretch across his face, showing that he understood he was right.

"You know, X Ray was really worried about you," he told her, changing the subject.

"Sorry" she replied absentmindedly. Squid raised an eyebrow at her, looking mildly concerned at her vague response. He stood up slowly, careful not to wake any of the other campers and sat next to her on her cot.

"Why did you come here Fox?"

"That's just the question I've been asking myself…" she muttered in reply.

"Well, maybe you'll figure out the answer if you get some sleep – we start digging in four hours, you're gonna need some rest."

Crystal nodded, suddenly regretting having not gone to bed sooner, she turned over and curled herself up in her blanket.

"Hey Fox?" Squid whispered on his way back to his cot.

"Yeah?"

"You know you can always talk to me right? And if not, there's always Zero…" When Crystal said nothing in reply he looked over at Zero's cot and said softly; "He was waiting up for ages for you to get back, looked like there was something he really wanted to say. He's a good kid…"

"I know…" Crystal mumbled in response, then closed her eyes awaiting the next day…

* * *

"Hey Crystal, can I speak to you please?" Zero appeared over Crystal's hole, his hair temporarily blocking the sun, casting welcome shade down into the earth.

"Depends what it's about" she told him blankly, not allowing herself to be distracted from her digging.

"Tyrone"

she failed, She dropped her shovel and span around to face him.

"I told you I didn't want any help,"

"Look I overheard something last night, its up to you if you want to hear it or not,"

Crystal crossed her arms and looked defiantly up at him

"This better be worth it Zero, I had four hours sleep last night and I really need to finish quickly so I can catch up,"

"Tyrone was the other Fox. Something happened to him while he was here which lead to them destroying the file. Actually Mr Sir was meant to destroy it, but he was busy sorting out some other camper. Anyway, the Warden sounded really panicky, they're worried you know something that they've been keeping a secret…"

"Tyrone was Fox?" she thought back to his necklace lying in the earth, it made sense really. She clutched the metal tag against her tightly, feeling the smooth edges dig into her palm. She remembered the canteen with his name on it, next to the shovel, _his _shovel. But why was it bloodstained? What had he done? And why was Camp Green Lake trying to erase all evidence of him?

"Okay thanks Zero. But seriously, keep out of this now," she told him. Zero shrugged, admitting defeat and went back to his hole, allowing the suns raise to once again flood the edges of her pit, filling it with intense heat…

* * *

"Oh my god, I think I'm about to die," Crystal moaned as she walked back with her fellow campers from their days digging.

"Its your own fault for staying out till god knows what time Fox" Squid laughed, ruffling her hair.

"Hey Squid, where's your sympathy? Don't listen to him Fox, do you want me to help you with anything?" X Ray said, offering her a hand to help her walk, causing the others to howl with laughter.

"Oh man, I don't think I've seen anything quite so pathetic in years" Armpit said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Its Funny, X Ray was always the stronger one wasn't he; our undisputed leader…" Zigzag commented

"Oh how the mighty have fallen…" Magnet joined in

"Shut up guys, I don't see any of you offering to be the gentleman here" X Ray shouted, blushing slightly.

"Being gentlemen? Correct table etiquette? Anyone would think this is finishing school, not a detention centre、"Armpit laughed.

"Whatever guys, I'm just trying to make the lady feel comfortable," X Ray said, attempting to look like he didn't care. He turned back around to check Crystal was alright and noticed that her face had suddenly gone deathly pale.

"What's up Fox?" he asked. She didn't answer, she just kept staring ahead, her eyes transfixed on the same spot ahead of them. Her fellow campers followed her gaze to see the dirt covered yellow bus which announced the arrival of a new member of camp green lake.

"`sup? Suddenly realized your not the newest person anymore?" Magnet smirked. Crystal shook her heads, still staring ahead, a look of horror flashing across her eyes. They looked ahead once more, the boy that was being lead towards Mr. Sirs office was tall and muscular, a mop of untamed brown hair fell over his handsome, but wild looking face. Zero noticed Crystal begin to shake with anger and at once realized who it was.

"Jack?" he asked quietly. Crystal nodded, glaring ahead.


	14. NOTICE

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't updated this story in forever, I'm sorry!

I haven't been on Fanfiction in such a long time as I started university last year doing a degree in English and Creative Writing and I have literally had no time to write my own stuff ever since!

However, during this time I have still received so many lovely reviews and favourites, and each one has made me so happy.

I don't know how many of you are still on here, but if any of you still are I feel like I owe you the end of this story as has been requested!

As I mentioned before I am currently studying Creative Writing and so I also want to start this up again to gain some much needed writing practice before I go out into the big wide world after graduating next year! And for the sake of fresh starts, I have decided to create a whole new account, and rewrite this story in a remastered version!

I'm still in the process of setting everything up, so I cant post any links (not even sure if I can post links in here...) but I can tell you that my new pen-name will be DubuDoodle, and the story will be Mystery of the Fox: REMASTERED.

The first chapter should hopefully be up soon! And I'm going to do my best to update at least once a week!

Thanks again for reviewing and I hope you read/enjoy the new version!


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